Detection apparatuses are used in a plurality of industrial fields. In particular, detection apparatuses included in charged particle beam devices are used for inspection or imaging of samples, e.g., of semiconductor devices.
In general, there is a high demand for inspecting samples or specimens within the micrometer or nanometer scale. On such a small scale, inspection or imaging is often done with charged particle beams, e.g. primary ion beams, which are generated in charged particle beam devices such as charged ion beam devices. Charged particle beams offer superior spatial resolution compared to, e.g., photon beams due to their short wavelengths.
Primary charged particle beams can generate, upon impingement on the sample or specimen, secondary charged particles, e.g. secondary electrons or secondary ions, which carry information about the sample or specimen. In particular, such secondary particles carry information about surface structures of the sample or specimen.
Negatively charged secondary particles or positively charged secondary particles can be detected with a detector, e.g., a scintillation detector, and the detector signals can be used for extracting information about the sample or specimen. In particular, the information can be used for inspecting the sample or imaging the sample.
Many imaging devices use secondary electrons to obtain information about the surface. Some imaging devices use secondary ions for this purpose. Still, there is a need for detection apparatuses that can obtain information for enhanced inspection or imaging applications.